Awkward
by Snows Of Yester-Year
Summary: Awkward situations like this were definitely not in the contract. Zuko would have to make sure to knock from now on. Kataang, takes place after WAT


A/N: ...-lives?-

So this is the first time I've submitted anything in like a year and homygod. Um. One, I got confused trying to upload it, and two, hiiii I'm alive. On the offchance that someone's reading this who was also reading my multi-chapters, I'm probably going to finish Mountains, but I'm not so sure about Home Fire. Either way, I'm sorry.

Anyway, there are lots of good reasons that I haven't don't anything for a year. These reasons range from college to having a crap computer to so much drama I thought my head was going to implode but IT'S OKAY, THINGS ARE BETTER. Well. That's a lie. But they're getting there.

Expect to see more from me in the near future. ... :D

And thank you to Chaka aka Winter Sapphire for telling me how to fix my formatting to upload this thing. Whyyy did I get iWorks.

**For the reference, I wrote this like a year ago, so it doesn't really mesh with the canon timeline anymore. It takes place right after The Western Air Temple.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender

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Zuko wandered through the temple, scanning for the Airbender. Really, was it that hard for the kid to stay in the same place for more than five seconds? Here they were, supposed to start Firebending lessons today, and the student was nowhere to be found. Typical.

Zuko caught sight of the Water Tribe warrior, seated on a rock and studying a map. He ran over to him, nudging him with his foot when the he didn't acknowledge his existence.

"What is it?" Sokka muttered, not bothering to mask his irritation.

"Have you seen the Avatar?" Zuko asked, frowning lightly at the tone. "We were supposed to start Firebending today."

Sokka sighed, folding up the map and resting his elbows on his knees before meeting Zuko's eyes with his own. "Okay, first off," he started, "he does have a name, and it's probably in your best interest if you learned to use it."

Zuko frowned. Sokka had a valid point. Not that he would ever admit it.

"And to answer your question, I have no clue where he is," Sokka continued, opening his map back up. "Maybe he's off playing with Momo or something, I don't know."

"A big help you are," Zuko muttered, continuing on to what he hoped would be a more fruitful destination.

The Firebender wandered for a full fifteen minutes before he stumbled across Toph, who was seated on a rock. Momo was curled up in her lap and she was scratching his ears absently, sightless eyes staring blankly into the distance.

"Hey, Toph," Zuko called out as he approached.

"What's up, Sparky," she responded with a slight smile.

"Um…" he hesitated, totally unsure of how to answer that question before ducking the topic entirely. "Hey, have you seen the Ava – Aang around anywhere?"

Toph lifted her eyebrows pointedly. "Well," she said in an unnaturally brisk voice, "typically I could check for you, but unfortunately my feet were burned, so I have no way of seeing where he could be."

"I get it," Zuko said dryly, scowling at her. "If you were to guess, where would you say he would be?"

"Oh, I don't know," Toph said with an exaggerated shrug, "have you checked his room?"

"…Shut up," Zuko scowled, turning away abruptly and stalking toward where the bedrooms are.

"See you later, Sparky!" Toph called after him in an unnaturally chipper voice. Zuko glanced back to see a smirk on her face before continuing on his path, grumbling angrily to himself the whole way.

"I just had to join forces with the most insane people on the face of the Earth…I could have stayed in the Fire Nation, but no, I had to grow a conscience…"

He heaved a sigh, pausing just outside the Avatars door. He frowned at the weathered wood and muttered, "You had better be in here," before swinging the door open.

Whatever remark Zuko was about to make died in his throat as soon as he took a look into the room.

The first thing Zuko noticed was that the Avatar was, indeed, in his room. The second thing that Zuko noticed was that the Waterbender was in there with him. And that was when Zuko's brain stopped processing facts because it's was too shocked at what it was seeing to do so.

The two were on the bed. Thankfully, they were – for the most part – at least somewhat decent. Katara had abandoned her usual dress and was wearing only a clinging top and a pair of loose, navy pants. Aang was worse; his torso was completely bare, although thankfully he still had his pants on.

Their state of dress - or lack thereof - was a shock to Zuko, but what they were actually doing was somehow even worse.

Aang had one of his hands tangled in Katara's hair to the point where one had to question whether they would ever be able to come out with the other hand trailing over her exposed skin, whereas Katara had her arms wrapped firmly around his neck, her hands occasionally wandering to trace the path of his arrow. They were kissing, and they were not being at all shy about it. As a shell-shocked Zuko stood there, absolutely incapable of movement no matter how hard he tried, he heard Katara let out a low moan.

This did two things. One, this sound somehow managed to bring Zuko rather jarringly back to earth, if only for a moment, and two, for whatever reason, this prompted Aang to open his eyes. It was upon doing to that he noticed Zuko out of the corner of his eye.

Aang jerked his head up somewhat abruptly, prompting Katara to whine in irritation, and stared at Zuko with a look that perfectly mirrored the one on the Firebender's face: mouth hanging open slightly, eyes impossibly wide, and cheeks bearing the slightest flush – although that might be from the activity he had been previously engaged in.

"Aang, what –" Katara twisted to see what Aang was looking at, and fell totally silent when her eyes met Zuko's. Surprise flickered across her face before her features settled into a less-than-pleased expression. Zuko didn't need words to know that she was going to kill him later.

"Um…" said Aang in a small voice, wincing and drawing back from the door silently. Zuko blinked at him, his mind swimming bewilderedly, before he managed to shut his mouth and assemble his countenance to look as calm as possible.

Slowly and trying not to break the silence, Zuko pulled the door shut, turned, and walked away without another word.


End file.
